LPG kit dealers step on the gas

Even as the government of Gujarat is taking rapid strides in providing compressed natural gas (CNG) as a fuel for vehicles, dealers of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) conversion kits are doing a good business, as vehicle owners find LPG a much cheaper fuel compared to petrol and diesel.

There are several authorised dealers in the state, who install LPG conversion kits on four-wheelers.

Earlier this month, the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPCL), the nodal agency for implementing the CNG distribution, has invited authorised suppliers of CNG conversion kits to register themselves with GSPCL.

GSPCL will oversee 'Operation CNG', the process of companies setting up centres in all cities of Gujarat, where vehicle owners can get CNG conversion kits fitted on to their vehicles.

The minister of state for energy and petrochemicals Saurabh Dalal said he was not in a position to state exactly what scenario could emerge for an alternative fuel to petrol and diesel.

"I do not know at what rate is LPG being sold to car owners and we are still in the process of framing a policy that will determine the price of CNG, when it will be dispensed from stations," Dalal said.

He said since the state government is not involved in marketing of LPG for vehicles, it will be difficult to state what will happen when both CNG and LPG are dispensed as fuels for vehicles.

Regional transport officer, Ahmedabad, R D Tilawat, said there is nothing illegal in vehicles running on LPG as fuel and the transport department has given licences to several companies to fit LPG conversion kits in vehicles.

"Petrol-, diesel-, LPG- and CNG-run vehicles are allowed on the roads, but since CNG is still not available in Ahmedabad, the others are allowed," he said.

Dealers of LPG car kits say even if CNG is introduced as a fuel at a later stage, vehicle owners will continue to fit LPG conversion kits in their vehicles.

"Once CNG comes in, people will check the costs involved for both fuels and will then decide. However, for now, LPG is definitely catching up as a fuel for cars, as petrol costs are going up on a regular basis," Manoj Santani, a dealer of Universal Autolink, a company that manufactures CNG conversion kits, said.

Dealers said the kits that are being fitted for the past few months now have a tank with capacities of 36 litres, 50 litres or 60 litres.

Car owners can either opt for imported kits or even those manufactured in India and have the ISI certification.

Depending on the type of the vehicle, LPG conversion kits are available from Rs 18,000 to 21,000. "If the car is electronically controlled or automatic, the conversion kit costs around Rs 20,000," Santani said.

LPG conversion kit dealers said while CNG is environment-friendly, there is yet no exact data on how costly it will be for the vehicle owners.

Also, in the initial stages, only public transport vehicles like buses and autorickshaws are to be converted into CNG mode, they said. The cost of one litre of LPG is Rs 18.50 in the city, which turns out to be 75 paise per km for a car. This is much lower compared to the cost of petrol or diesel.

However, there is the issue of safety.

Earlier, vehicle owners directly installed LPG cylinders in the storage space of the car.

After running for a couple of kms on petrol, they switched over to LPG. This increased the risk of cylinder explosion, but now the conversion kits have a special LPG tank.